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Jamie Hughes' bizarre miscount stops him adding to the 12 nine-darters in 2022

Jamie Hughes came agonizingly close to becoming a member of the nine-dart club, but his bizarre miscount in the Players Championship denied him a spot.

So far, 2022 has been a hotspot for nine-darters, with 12 being hit already this year.

Three were added to that list over the weekend as Josh Rock, Joe Cullen and Danny Noppert hit maximums during the weekend's Players Championship action.

Josh Payne was the first to achieve the feat in 2022, hitting his nine-darter in Milton Keynes during the UK Q School.
Ryan Murray then added himself to the prestigous list in the Challenge Tour 1, before Ian White and Matt Campbell joined him following the Players Championship 2 and 3.
World No.2 Gerwyn Price then went and hit two nine-darters in one night during the third week of Premier League action in Belfast, and Jose Justica, James Wade and Michael Smith all added to the tally in the UK Open in Minehead.
However, while fans were already treated to a trio of nine-darters in Barnsley last weekend, Jamie Hughes missed a huge opportunity to make it four.

The Tipton thrower was up against Alan Soutar in the first round of the competition, and after finding his rhythm early on, the 35-year-old went up another gear in the sixth leg.

He opened up with an impressive 180, before nailing a composed 177 to set up a breathtaking finish.

On his third visit to the board, however, Hughes managed something even more fascinating than actually landing the nine-darter - he miscounted.

He pinned a T20 with his first dart, but then diverted his attention to the T19, which he also managed to land.
Without hesitation, Hughes then lined up the D12, only for him to realise his crucial error and bury his head in his hands.
Having believed he left himself 141 to hit in his final visit, he was instead left with 27 on his final dart, leaving his nine-dart hopes in tatters.
Thankfully, Hughes' comical mistake had no affect on the result, as he went on to claim the leg and then win the match 6-5.
He progressed to the final 64, but made it no further as he bowed out to Jonny Clayton.

The match commentator Paul Nicholson provided some brilliantly entertaining reaction during the match.

"I've never seen anything like it in my life," said Nicholson. "Even the referee is flummoxed. Alan Soutar is flummoxed thinking 'Jamie Hughes, bow your head in shame.' If only he had D12 left!"

Darts stars have some way to go if they are to equal last year's record of 42 nine-darters, and they'll all be hoping to see that unlucky number 13 ticked off sooner rather than later.

READ MORE: Jim Williams wins first PDC title after toppling Ricky Evans in sixth Players Championship

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